Chapter 334: The Caesar of the Academy

"Seriously, this is supposed to be a Domah outpost—this is all they've got?"

Fujiki You Xuan stepped out of the dim base, back into the sunlight, counting the contraband he'd seized.

To be honest, he wasn't satisfied.

It wasn't that there were no rare cards—just that most of the rare cards these people held were considered powerful and valuable by locals, but meant nothing to him.

Take the "Electric Blade Insect," for example: a four-star card with a monstrous 2400 attack, and a trivial side effect—forcing the opponent to draw one card during battle.

Still, it could fetch a good price.

With this, New Domah's presence in the region had been eradicated.

"But… really, is this fine?"

Ten Dai was a little worried.

He hadn't thought much while dueling, but now that it was over, recalling the information he'd overheard, unease crept in.

"They just said something about headquarters personnel arriving in Duel City or whatever," Ten Dai looked at Fujiki You Xuan. "Sounds like some serious folks, right?"

He thought of Xie Er—one of Domah's Three Swordsmen, the opponent they'd barely defeated together back then.

If it was someone like him, the threat level was clearly not on the same scale as the guys they'd just fought in that outpost.

"Who knows? Maybe," Fujiki You Xuan shrugged. "Either way, we've done what we could. The rest? We'll deal with it when it comes. How's your puzzle card collection going?"

"Oh."

Ten Dai pulled a handful of puzzle cards from his back pocket.

"Four," he said. "Two more to go."

"Ha, I've got five already." Fujiki You Xuan pulled out five cards.

This raid on New Domah had not only netted them cards and eliminated a threat—it had also significantly boosted their puzzle card counts. The outpost was huge, but only a handful of people had qualified to compete; the rest were cannon fodder with no puzzle cards.

"Alright, time to find the last opponent," Fujiki You Xuan waved, smiling. "Let's hurry up. If we don't even make it to the playoffs, that'd be hilarious."

The two bumped fists, then parted ways.

"Just one more match left?"

Fujiki You Xuan walked down the street, glancing left and right.

Actually, with contestants scattered across such a vast city, finding one wasn't easy.

Especially since most competitors deliberately hid themselves. Wandering the streets with a dueling disk during Duel City was like advertising yourself as prey—anyone could spot you and decide whether to challenge you.

But if you stayed hidden, observing quietly, you became the hunter. Wait for an easy target, and if your opponent looked too strong, just keep lying low.

So for Fujiki You Xuan and Ten Dai to rack up five cards by storming a hotspot was already fast. Others just strolling the streets might not find a match for hours.

Not to mention that nine out of ten duelists, even if they get multiple chances, can't guarantee wins every time. The higher-ranked, more famous duelists face opponents of equal or greater strength—everyone recognizes them and avoids them immediately.

So even though it seemed like they only needed one more match, the final opponent might not be easy to find.

After circling one street without spotting a contestant, Fujiki You Xuan figured he'd been active all morning—he was hungry. He decided to grab something to eat first.

As the saying goes, when you search high and low, you find it right where you least expect it—he walked into the restaurant and bumped straight into someone.

The Caesar of Duel Academy: Marufuji Ryō.

Both froze.

Their eyes met—this was the right person.

Half a second later, Fujiki You Xuan smiled. "Small world. You here to eat too?"

"Yeah," Marufuji smiled, casually asking, "How many cards?"

"Five."

Fujiki You Xuan showed his puzzle cards.

"Just one more to go."

"Small world indeed."

Marufuji smiled and pulled out his own puzzle cards from his pocket.

Also five.

Fujiki You Xuan guessed it had something to do with his school uniform. Marufuji was one of the strongest characters in GX, but his title "Caesar" was only recognized within the school—he wasn't famous outside before graduation.

Many Duel City contestants probably hadn't heard of him, and seeing his school uniform, assumed he was just an inexperienced student here to soak up the atmosphere—a soft target. That's why he'd won five matches so quickly.

"So it seems we're all at the final stage," Fujiki You Xuan chuckled.

"Indeed," Marufuji's eyes glinted with battle lust. "One of us will advance right here."

"Oh, right here?"

"If everyone's aiming to keep advancing, we'll eventually meet on the field anyway. Besides, we never got the chance to duel back at the academy—but we were bound to fight someday, weren't we?"

"Hmm, fair point."

Fujiki You Xuan smiled.

"Since the opportunity's here…"

Marufuji nodded, stepped back two paces, and prepared to deploy his dueling disk.

But Fujiki You Xuan raised a hand in a stop gesture.

"Wait."

He spoke seriously.

"I need to eat first."

Marufuji: "..."

Minutes later, Fujiki You Xuan sat down in the restaurant and started eating. Marufuji sat across from him, arms crossed, patiently waiting.

"This place is mediocre—the beef's a bit tough. Want some too?"

Marufuji waved him off. "I just ate."

"No problem, you can order more. My treat," Fujiki You Xuan said politely.

"Really, no need."

Marufuji smiled.

"By the way, you got five cards this fast? Impressive."

"Haha, luck," Marufuji chuckled. "I just give my all in every duel, fight to the best of my ability."

Fujiki You Xuan nodded. "I understand."

He knew Marufuji's philosophy—it was his defining trait early on: "respectful dueling" learned from Principal Jiaodao.

Marufuji was the classic idealistic duelist in the anime—upright, honorable, valuing dueling dignity above victory itself.

His ultimate pursuit was the bond with his deck, respect for his opponent, and respect for the duel itself. As he reflected during his dark turn in the underground duel, he once believed respecting his opponent was enough—that victory didn't matter.

This belief made him strong, but also became his weakness.

At the academy, he was invincible as Caesar—even undefeated against Ten Dai, the protagonist with his aura. He'd never lost, so he never craved victory—it came too easily, too ordinary.

But on the professional stage, after being humiliated by the prodigy Edward Phoenix, for the first time in his life, he felt a deep hunger for victory.

Yet due to his ingrained mindset, he suppressed that hunger. He kept telling himself to stay true to his beliefs, desperately stifling the thought of "win at all costs," and the inner conflict shattered his dueling momentum entirely.

This further proved that in the anime world, when a duelist loses his nerve, his cards lose their power. Even a Caesar, after his psyche broke from losing to Edward, went on to lose every single match afterward—even against low-ranked professionals.

Only after descending into underground duels, facing life-or-death stakes, did his long-suppressed desire finally erupt—he abandoned his old "respectful dueling" doctrine and began pursuing victory by any means necessary.

But in Fujiki You Xuan's view, though he knew this opinion would sound heretical to mainstream duelists in this world, he preferred the post-blackout "Hell Caesar" path over the idealistic early version.

Because dueling is cruel—there's only one winner. He couldn't accept the notion that "respecting your opponent means victory doesn't matter," because in this world, dueling outcomes decide everything—the loser loses everything.

Fujiki You Xuan narrowed his eyes, studying Marufuji.

Marufuji, the so-called Caesar, was originally among the strongest characters in GX. Too bad he later ruined his body through obsession—he was one of the few reliable teammates in GX's weak later arc.

If he could use this duel to show him the cruelty of dueling, maybe he wouldn't have to wait until the pro circuit to be crushed and shut down, or descend into underground duels. His future strength could become a major asset to their side.

Decided, Fujiki You Xuan wiped his mouth and stood up. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go."

This duel will be long.



(End of Chapter)